Mary Costa was in London recently doing the media rounds to promote a new, technologically-up-to-date version of Disney's Sleeping Beauty, out on DVD and Blu-Ray. She provided the voice to the lead character, under the tutelage of Walt Disney, and reminisces eloquently about her experience in this interview with Trevor Baker.
The funny thing is, though, that Sleeping Beauty is probably the least interesting thing about Costa's amazing life. One of America's finest sopranos, she performed lead roles in La Traviata, Candide and La Boheme. She spent three weeks in the home of Igor Stravinsky, being coached for the role of Ann Trulove in his Rake's Progress. She performed at the memorial service for JFK at the personal request of Jackie Kennedy. She palled around with everyone from Bing Crosby to Dean and Jerry and she's still going strong at 78.
